Pathways to decarbonizing Heat

Pathways to decarbonizing Heat

Heat

Hydrogen gains over 150 cistations.

Without it, we could not forge steel to build our infrastructure, we could not process raw materials, we could not generate most utility-scale electricity, recycling would not be possible, and our food and water would be unsafe. In its various applications, commercial and industrial heat are central to the economy and our quality of life.1 This also makes heat-generating sectors concentrated sources of greenhouse gas emissions, as process heat is primarily generated through combustion of hydrocarbons. These hydrocarbons have built the modern world and continue to run it today. In pursuit of decarbonization, there are some wishing to see the entire economy electrified and to completely depart from hydrocarbons. When these goals are set forth, they often overlook or reject fundamental realities about the scale of our energy dependence, state of our infrastructure, and our true reliance on hydrocarbons. While many present arguments on the economic viability of hydrocarbon alternatives like renewables, very few advocates provide a holistic framework for evaluating an economy-wide decarbonization scheme. We do so here, with a limited approach to the sector producing commercial and industrial heat.

Hydrogen Training